Understanding and Managing Fungal Pathogens in Forest Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

About 30% of the earth's surface is covered by forests, which perform a variety of functions and provide important ecosystem services. Among other things, forests provide habitat for many organisms. Of great interest in all forest ecosystems is the role of fungi. For example, they play an important and indispensable role in the utilization of organic matter, live as mycorrhizal fungi or as endophytes in plant tissue, and are so-called pathogenic fungi that cause diseases in their host plants. On a large scale, the changing climatic conditions are, among other things, responsible for the fact that fungi, which were once considered harmless, are suddenly changing their way of life and becoming pathogenic. However, also on a small scale, many different factors determine the way fungi behave in the respective ecosystem. Although the interplay between host and pathogen is usually well-balanced in their natural range, management strategies may be required, for example, to stop the spread of a disease, especially when it involves pathogenic fungi introduced to ecosystems outside of their natural range. For this Special Issue, we are seeking field or experimental studies, monitoring work, and modeling studies that will contribute to a better understanding of the role of pathogenic fungi and their management options in forest ecosystems around the world.

Dr. Sophie Stroheker
Prof. Dr. George Newcombe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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